flash point

or flashpoint

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noun

Also flashing point. Physical Chemistry. the lowest temperature at which a liquid in a specified apparatus will give off sufficient vapor to ignite momentarily on application of a flame.

a critical point or stage at which something or someone suddenly causes or creates some significant action: A 10 percent drop in mortgage rates will produce a flash point in the housing market.

a critical situation or area having the potential of erupting in sudden violence: The Mideast has been the flash point for a series of conflicts.

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Origin of flash point

First recorded in 1875–80

Words nearby flash point

flashover, flashpacker, flash photography, flash photolysis, flash picture, flash point, flash set, flash smelting, flash spectrum, flashtube, flash unit

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use flash point in a sentence

The incident is the latest flash point in how police use Tasers, particularly against the elderly.
Unarmed 75-year-old Tasered without warning by Colorado officer: ‘What did I do?’|Julian Mark|July 23, 2021|Washington Post
In sports, Lynch cites a global soccer scandal as a flash point for companies speaking out and becoming more supportive of athletes who do so, too.
Brands Continue to Back Naomi Osaka, Showing an Evolution in How Sponsors Treat Athletes|Sean Gregory|June 7, 2021|Time
The hope is by being proactive, keeping them safe, that hopefully we can ultimately prevent that flash point crisis moment.
Mental health law is flawed, critics say after shooting that left three dead|Alison Knezevich, Jean Marbella|May 19, 2021|Washington Post
The flash points become issues of data rights rather than rights of way.
What cities need now|Jennifer Clark|April 28, 2021|MIT Technology Review

Any attempt to step around the fire engulfing the American zeitgeist using entertainment, spectacle or absurdity would be, again, an easy flash point to an angry debate regarding tone deafness or lack of awareness.
Marketing Briefing: ‘No inspiring message’: Humor, charity become main themes ahead of the Big Game|Kristina Monllos|February 2, 2021|Digiday
The citizens of Stevens Point defeated fluoridation by a healthy margin.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
Deep, situational, and emotional jokes based on what is relevant and has a POINT!
Trolls and Martyrdom: Je Ne Suis Pas Charlie|Arthur Chu|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
To borrow an old right-wing talking point, these people are angry no matter what we do.
Harry Shearer on The Dangerous Business of Satire|Lloyd Grove|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Therefore, it is not possible for any F-35 schedule to include a video data link or infrared pointer at this point.
Pentagon Misfires in Stealth Jet Scandal|Dave Majumdar|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But the most important point I want to make is about what the press does now.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Our Duty Is to Keep Charlie Hebdo Alive|Ayaan Hirsi Ali|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
This is the first and principal point at which we can stanch the wastage of teaching energy that now goes on.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
The vision—it had been an instantaneous flash after all and nothing more—had left his mind completely for the time.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
A flash of surprise and pleasure lit the fine eyes of the haughty beauty perched up there on the palace wall.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
His also was the intellectual point of view, and the intellectual interest in knowledge and its deductions.
The Mediaeval Mind (Volume II of II)|Henry Osborn Taylor
Judged from this point of view only, the elasticity provided by the new law is doubtless adequate.
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips

British Dictionary definitions for flash point

flash point

flashing point

noun

the lowest temperature at which the vapour above a liquid can be ignited in air

a critical moment beyond which a situation will inevitably erupt into violencethe political mood has reached flash point

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for flash point

flash point

The lowest temperature at which the vapor of a flammable liquid will ignite in air. The flash point is generally lower than the temperature needed for the liquid itself to ignite.

Cultural definitions for flash point

flash point

For a given flammable substance, the lowest temperature at which vapors passing from the substance into the air will catch fire spontaneously if a small flame is present.

flash point

or flashpoint

COMPARE MEANINGS

Origin of flash point

Words nearby flash point

Words related to flash point

How to use flash point in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for flash point

flashing point

Scientific definitions for flash point

Cultural definitions for flash point